Love Without Pity
by Janeaustenfan1981
Summary: Both Sully and Michaela had their hearts broken and left them wary about love. Will they find love together?
1. Chapter 1

"Dad, I appreciate you telling me about this place, but I don't have time to go horseback riding right now," Michaela tried to explain to her father. "I have to write three more chapters and edit them before my deadline which is in two weeks. I can't just diddy dally around."

"Your mom and I are worried about you, Mike," her father said, gently. "Myra told us you haven't left your house in two weeks. I'm sure Ms Jennings would give you an extension to finish your book. You need to do more than writing, sweetheart."

After talking on the phone with her father for half an hour, Michaela Quinn was getting a bit anxious to get back to Writing. She loved him with all of her heart and knew he was worrying about her, since she moved to Colorado Springs a year ago. Both of her parents weren't thrilled about her moving away from Boston, but when she found a small house near where her best friend, Myra, who was a nurse and her husband, Hank Lawson were living, then they felt better about it. Even though Michaela was twenty-eight years old, college educated, and an author, her parents still sometimes treated her as a child.

"God, why did you make me handicapped?" she asked, silently.

Michaela was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck causing her not to breathe. In order to save her life, Dr. Jameson had to preformed CPR on her. When baby Michaela cried, everybody was relieved, but Dr. Jameson and her father, who was a doctor also, knew since she was without oxygen for a few minutes, then a part of her cerebral part of her brain might have been damaged and would led her having Cerebral Palsy. Michaela stayed in the hospital for and week to be sure she was breathing properly before going home. Both of her parents decided rather than putting her through an x-ray, they would wait and see if she had CP.

When Michaela did start crawling or walking without help, they took her to a specialist and confirmed what her father expected-Michaela had cerebral Palsy. At sixteen months, she started physical therapy. Since Michaela's CP only affected her legs and her balance, her therapist, Mrs. Cooper concentrated on strengthening them and taught her to crawl and when she got her leg braces Mrs. Cooper had her practice walking with a walker. Michaela could walk with the help of her walker, but when she had to walk long distances she had to use her wheelchair.

Michaela was placed in Special Ed, but her parents knew despite her physical handicap, she very smart and knew she deserved to be mainstreamed into regular classes like their other four daughters. They didn't act until she announced one day after school that she knew her ABC's and 123's and wanted to be in regular classes like her friends in Sunday school. Her parents talked to the Special Education advisors, therapists, and counselors and with their help, it was arranged for intelligence testing to see if she could benefit from academics. It was hard to convince the school Michaela was able to learn, so she went to be tested. Although it was something that had not been done before, the school worked with her and her family to see that she got a chance to learn the things that other kids learned. She became one of the first severely disabled children in the district to be completely mainstreamed, beginning with first grade.

In school, Michaela was treated normally by her teachers and classmates and excelled in all of her subjects. She was always on the honor roll and graduated high school with honors. She attended Boston University, where she majored in English and minored in History. Although Michaela could had have lived at home, she wanted to live in an apartment with Myra and Grace and be more independent. Her parents knew she could take care of herself, so they agreed to pay her part of the rent.

Michaela enjoyed college life. She did what any college student would do. She attended her classes, wrote papers, studied, partied, and went to concerts. Michaela met David Lewis at a Jon Bon Jovi concert and hit it of right off. They spent hours talking to one another in a night dinner after the concert. Michaela and David talked about each other's hopes and dreams for their futures. She told him her desire to be a famous writer and he told her how he wanted to be a heart surgeon because of his brother who was born with a heart defect and died when he was eighteen because they coulddn't find a match in time. Michaela told him about her best friend, Daniel, who had a heart and lung defect and died during back surgery and how heartbroken she felt when her sister, Marjorie, told her he didn't make it. Then Michaela and David talked about how more people needed to be organ donors.

After that night, they were always together and some people wondered why David would want to have a handicapped girlfriend, but others were happy for them. Michaela and David dated all of college and after they graduated, he proposed and she said yes. They planned on getting married after he finished medical school.

"So much for that plan," Michaela thought, bitterly.

Last year Michaela and David were supposed to get married, but a month before he had told her he couldn't marry her because he fell in love with someone else named Miriam Tilson. David told Michaela how he tried to fight his feelings for Miriam but he couldn't lie to himself anymore and told her that marrying her wouldn't have been right. Michaela was angry, sad, embarrass and disappointed. She wasn't herself for months after that, but then one day, she realized she needed a change and moved to Colorado Springs.

"It was one of the smartest things I ever done," Michaela told herself. "At least here I'm not reminded about David everywhere I turned."

Her father's voice made her come back to the present.

"Michaela, did you hear a word I said?"

Michaela told him, "I'm sorry, Dad. I got distracted. What did you say?"

"I said it would be good to do hippotherapy again," he said. "You always enjoyed riding horses ever since you were little. You could meet new people."

Before she could respond, Myra walked through the door carrying groceries. "Dad, Myra just walked in with my groceries. I need to help her put them up. I'll call you back tomorrow."

"Okay, Mike, but promise me you'll think about going to that place. "

To appease her father she said, "I will. Bye, Dad. I love you. Tell Mom and everyone hi for me." After he said he would and goodbye, she hung up.

Myra, who heard the last part of her conservation asked, "what did your dad made you promise to do?"

Michaela wheeled herself to the kitchen and put a head of lettuce in her lap so she could put it in the refrigerator. After she did, she answered, "Dad wants me to go somewhere near here where they do hippotherapy. I think its called CD Ranch."

"Oh, I heard of it," her friend told her. "They did a special about it on the news a year ago. The owner name is Larry Seller or Cloud Dancing as his friends calls him."

Michaela's eyebrow lifted and asked, "Cloud Dancing? Is he an old hippie?"

"No. He's Cheyenne Indian," Myra explained. "Cloud Dancing is his Indian name. Anyway, he started doing hippotherapy after his best friend's older brother was paralyzed from the waist down after a car wreck. He loved horseback riding, so Larry decided to make a platform with a ramp so they could mount him up on a horse easier. Cloud Dancing saw how much he enjoyed coming there to ride, he decided to let any handicapped person come and ride."

"How can you remember all that?"

"What do you mean? You know I have a good memory."

Michaela gave her a suspicious look. "Myra, we have been best friends since first grade and I know when you're keeping something from me. Dad called you and told you about CD Ranch, didn't he?"

"What if he did?" she asked countering her. "By the way, I did saw the special that aired on the ten o'clock news. All right, I watched it on YouTube last night, but I digressed. Your parents are worried about you. All you do is eat, sleep, and write. You don't go with me anymore. We use to go shopping, eat out and go to the movies. The last time you went out was two weeks ago when we went to the doctor's to get your botox injections for your legs. It isn't good being cooped up in this house. You even missed church two weeks in a roll. Reverend Johnson and his wife, Amanda asked if you were sick."

Michaela let out a sigh and said, "You know I have a deadline to meet and I need tot spend every minute I can to write."

"That's bull and you know it," Myra interjected. "You have never missed a deadline and if you did, Dorothy Jennings would give you more time. Tell the truth, you haven't been yourself since you found out David and Miriam were engaged. Michaela, being depressed and hiding behind your writing won't help you. You need to get David Lewis out of your system once and for all. I'm going to make sure you go and do things you enjoy starting with horseback riding. Tomorrow morning I'm going to take you to CD Ranch."

"Why can't people just let me be?" she asked.

"Because we love you and want you to be happy again," her friend replied gently.

Michaela ran a hand through her hair, knowing she had been defeated. "You will keep bothering me until I go, right?"

Her friend smiled and said, "Yep."

After rolling her eyes and sucked in air, she gave in. "Fine, Myra. I'll go. I'll call you when I'm ready."

"Great!" Myra exclaimed, bending down to hug her. "I have a Wonderful feeling about this."

"Myra, it's just horseback riding," Michaela said, dryly. Then turning back to the groceries she said, "we need to up the rest of these up, especially the milk, cheese, and eggs."

Myra smiled and nodded. While she was helping Michaela putting the groceries up, Myra silently prayed her friend would find happiness she really deserved.

She wasn't the only person who hoped their friend would find happiness again. Outside of the city limits, a man asked God to bring his friend's true love into his life.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Sully," Cloud Dancing called out as he was entering the stable.

"I'm over here," he answered, sticking his head out from the stall he was in for a moment, so his best friend could spot him.

Cloud Dancing walked over to where Sully was tending to a brown American Quarter horse with a white face named Rocket. He watched his friend as he worked. Cloud Dancing knew Sully had been up since dawn and started working after he took a shower, dressed and ate a light breakfast. He shook his head with sadness and wished Sully did more than work on the ranch. The only times he left the ranch was to go to work, to buy groceries, buy hay and oats from Robert E. Freeman, or check on his older brother, Austen. Now since Austen was engaged to Catherine Silvia Deere and was living with her, Sully didn't need to help him anymore.

Cloud Dancing was happy that Austen found Cathy especially after he was in a car accident and then had to battle a mild case of depression after the doctors told him he wouldn't walk again. Sully took him to a psychologist named Dr. William Burke and he put him on antidepressants and saw him once every two weeks. Dr. Burke told Sully he should try to get Austen to do some of the things he enjoyed before his accident. One of the things he liked to do was horseback riding, so Cloud Dancing and Sully built a platform with a ramp so Austen could mount a horse easier. Pretty soon Cloud Dancing and his wife, Ellen or Snow Bird as everyone calls her decided to let any handicapped person ride their horses. They needed volunteers to be side walkers, back riders, and to help take care of the horses. Cathy was one of the volunteers and Austen and her became friends and their feelings grew as they spent time together. Cathy came into his life at the right time because she brought the light back into his life and made him feel like a man again. Of course Austen had hard time adjusting to dating as a disabled man, but she was loving and patient with him particularly when they wanted to begin having intimate relations with one another. With time, persistence, and practice, they made it through that time together and now they are a happy and healthy couple.

"If Abigail Bray had been like Cathy," Cloud Dancing thought as his anger began to rise. "That selfish girl broke my best friend's heart and now he closed his heart to love."

After graduating from Texas A&M University Sully was hired to be the Sale Manager for Bray's Whole Foods Products, which was based in Denver. He loved his job because he lived closer to his family and friends, he was good at promoting products to stores, and it paid well. Loren Bray was very impressed with Sully's talent to sell his products in bulk to big name stores in America that he paid him to travel to Canada and many countries in Europe to try to get stores there to carry his food products.

Mr. Bray wasn't the only one who noticed Sully. His only daughter, Abigail had set her sights on Sully the moment she spotted him. She was spoiled all of her life, but her father forbid her to date any of his employees and she was fine with that until Sully came along. Abigail wanted him and went behind her father's back and went after Sully. Of course he was attracted to her and thought she was sweet and was easy to want to date her, but knew it would be wrong getting involve with the boss's daughter. Sully tried to stay away from Abigail and fight his feelings for her, but she kept pursuing him. One she told him her father gave his permission for them to date and he believed her. Sully and Abigail dated for over six months until Loren Bray found out. He was incensed when he learned his top employee and his daughter were dating. Mr. Bray ordered told Sully to stop seeing Abigail or he would be fired, but Sully was so caught up in her charms and beauty that he believed he was in love, so he quit. Sully thought Abigail was in love with him too and they would stay together despite her father's disapproval. Unfortunately, he was wrong about the depth of her feelings and was heart broken when he learned Mr. Bray paid her handsomely to end her relationship with Sully and date Martin Anderson the Vice President of his company. Abigail agreed and told Sully she had fun with him, but didn't see a future with him.

"Poor Sully," Cloud Dancing thought. "Thanks goodness for family and friends." 

A dispirited Sully moved back to Colorado Springs and lived with his parents, Katherine and Robert Sully until he figured out what to do next. His mother loved having her youngest son back home, so she could pamper him. As much Sully loved his parents he wanted to find another job and buy another house. He never liked feeling like leach. His father told he could apply for a job at Lodge Construction Company where he worked as an architect for thirty years. Not having any other options, Sully applied for a job there. The Vice President Mr. Preston A. Lodge III, who never cared for Sully knew if he didn't give him a position at the company his father, a good friend of Sully's father would be upset at him, so he hired him as a marketing manger like his father wanted. Sully excelled at his new job and worked hard, although he didn't like Preston was one of his bosses, he liked Mr. Lodge and he had both his father and him on his side.

When Sully thought his life was back on track, it got derailed again. Not once but twice. For their thirtieth anniversary, his parents decided to take a second honeymoon to Hawaii. On the flight there they had mechanical failure and crashed into the Pacific Ocean and by the time help arrived it was too late. There were no survivors. When Austen and Sully were desvastated when the police called and told them their parents' plan crashed and no one made it. It was hard on them because they were closed to both of their parents. Both young men grieved and leaned on their friends through the difficult time.

Unfortunately God tested the brothers one more time. Six months after the deaths of their parents, Austen was hit by a drunk driver leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Luckily his and the other driver's insurance helped cover the medical bills, but had to pay for medicine and Dr. Burke himself. Since Austen was living in Arizona, he decided it would be best to move back to Colorado Springs so Sully could help him. Because it was still painful to live in the house they grew up in, Sully let Austen buy the house he was going to buy and he moved into a cabin Cloud Dancing and Snow Bird had by their house. 

"Sully needs something good happen to him again," Cloud Dancing told himself.

Sully's voice interrupted his thoughts and asked, "I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"I asked if you were okay. You looked like your mind was miles away."

Cloud Dancing replied, "I'm fine. Just thinking."

The lines of Sully's forehead creased up. "Is somethin' wrong with the ranch? Oh, God somethin' happened with the mortgage. The bank called it in. I told you I would help you."

"Sully, we just paid the mortgage off," he assured him. "Do really want to know what I was thinking about?"

"Only if you want to," he answered.

"I was thinking all of the things you went though these past three years and that you were due for happiness."

Sully scoffed at this and said, "I doubt God wants me as miserable as possible."

Cloud Dancing shook his head and told him, "No, my friend you're wrong. God wants you happy. Terrible things happen, but we-"

His friend cut him off by saying, "I don't want to talk about this now. It's Saturday and we're gonna to have a lot of costumers, so we need to get ready."

with that Sully left the stall and left the stable.

Cloud Dancing looked Heavenward and asked, "Father, please let Sully find some happiness."

Michaela woke up at seven o'clock, took a shower, got dressed and cooked breakfast. By the time she ate and put the pans and plate in the dishwasher it was nine. As Michaela promised she called Myra and said she was ready to go to the CD Ranch. When she hung up, she wondered if she should use her walker to get around or her wheelchair. Thinking there would probably be gravel, she opted for her wheelchair. After Michaela walked over to the wheelchair using her walker and got in, Myra entered the house with her key Michaela gave her.

As usual Myra was her chipper mood. "Well, are you ready to go?"

"Yes," Michaela replied. "Sooner we go the sooner we can get back so I can write."

Her friend told her, "Hey no talking or thinking about writing You're going to have fun today."

"My deadline is-"

"One day without writing won't hurt," Myra said as she cut her off. "Please promise me you'll have fun. At least try."

"Fine, I'll try, " Michaela promised.

"Great. Let's go."

They left the house and got in the mini van and headed towards CD Ranch. Unbeknown to Michaela it was the day she would meet the man who would change her future.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Myra and Michaela arrived at CD Ranch within ten minutes and thanks to the GPS system they didn't get lost. When Michaela bought the minivan for people to drive her around in it was just a year old and had all of the new technology devices already and a ramp that comes down when the back door opens up. It sure beats the big handicapped vans with those heavy side lifts her parents had to buy for years. Michaela and Myra loved the minivan. Myra loved it because she could drive it easy without feeling she was driving a bus and Michaela loved it because it had great gas mileage and rode smoothly.

"Well, here we are," Myra said and got out of the van. When she pushed a button on the keypad, the back door opened up and the ramp dropped. After Michaela wheeled out, the ramp went up and the door closed. After locking the van, they followed the signs and they headed towards the stables.

When they got to the stable by the corral, an Indian woman walked up and greeted them. "Hello, I'm Ellen Seller but people call me Snow Bird. Welcome to CD Ranch. It's always nice to see new faces here."

"It's nice to meet you," Myra told her. "I'm Myra Lawson and this my best friend, Michaela Quinn."

"Hi," Michaela said, smiling. "I'm pleased to meet you. My, this beautiful piece of land you have."

"Thank you," the Indian woman replied, smiling. "We love it here. It's so peaceful and you feel an oneness with Mother Earth and the our creator."

The two younger women nodded in agreement. After a moment Snow Bird said, "Why don't we get helmets that will fit you two from the bins in the stable while I saddle up two horses? "

"Um, just saddle up one horse," Myra said. "I'm not much for horseback riding."

Michaela's forehead furrowed in confusion, "since when? You love riding horses."

"I don't feel like riding now," she answered out loud then bent down and whispered, "I'll tell you why I can't later."

Michaela nodded and told Snow Bird to saddle up one.

They went in the stable and while Snow Bird was saddling horse named Flash, Michaela and Myra were looking in the black plastic bin for a helmet that fit. When they found one, Michaela put it in her lap and waited for Snow Bird and the horse.

When she walked out of the stalls leading Flash she said, "I forgot to ask if you want to ride around in the corral or ride along the around about trail."

Michaela answered, "I'll try the trail."

"Fine," Snow Bird replied, "Please follow me."

They followed her to the platform and called for someone named Sully to help.

"Two of our side walkers had to be in a wedding, so we are short handed today, but you'll be in great hands with Sully guiding you."

"I can ride by myself. I don't need a side walker," Michaela said.

"I'm sorry, but it's our policy," Snow Bird explained. "Even though the horses are gentle and tamed, they could get easily spooked if they see a snake or hear a wild animal. I know both of those possibilities happening are small, but we need to make sure the riders don't get hurt."

Before Michaela could reply, someone said, "you called me, Snow Bird?" as he was walking towards them.

At first she couldn't see him because the horse and Snow Bird were in the way. After she replied she did and wanted him to meet new people.

Sully walked around to meet Michaela and Myra and when he did, he saw two women about his age. Both were attractive but something about the one in the wheelchair drew him to her.

"She's beautiful," he thought. Her eyes were unique, but beautiful. One eye was brown and the other one was green. She also had the most beautiful long brown hair he had ever seen. Sully bet if he could run his fingers through her hair, it would feel like soft silk. His eyes traveled down her body and thought it was perfect from what Sully could see. With her sitting down it was hard to judge how tall she was, but he guessed she was five foot three, the height he liked women he dated to be. Suddenly when Sully realized what he was thinking, told he to stop and snap out of it.

"I'm not ready to date yet," Sully told himself. "Besides, best not to get involved with a customer if the relationship end badly"

Michaela studied the man she assumed was Sully and found him very handsome and alluring. He had brown wavy hair that was shoulder length and some of the striking blue eyes she had ever seen. She stared into them and saw sadness. The same sadness she had been feeling for a year. Michaela wonder what caused his sorrow. A moment later she broke eye contact and let her eyes wander over the rest of him. With his tight fitted clothes she couldn't help but to take in his excellent physique. Sully was wearing a white muscle shirt, showing off big his biceps and triceps, his broad chest and she could see a hint of a washboard stomach. His tight Wrangler blue jeans didn't leave anything to the imagine either. Yes, Sully was one fine man. She found herself wondering if he was single.

"Sully probably has a girlfriend," Michaela told herself. "A good-looking man like him wouldn't be on the market. Still I wonder-What am I thinking? I'm not ready to even think about dating. I'm not ready to risk my heart again. It's too soon."

Both Snow Bird and Myra were smiling watching each other friend's intense looks at one another. They both knew getting them to open their hearts to love again wouldn't be easy, but from the look of things Sully and Michaela were both drawn to each other instantly. A great first step.

Finally Snow Bird introduced Sully to Michaela and Myra.

"Sully, I'd like you to meet Myra Lawson and Michaela Quinn. Myra, Michaela this is Byron Sully."

Sully groaned inwardly when Snow Bird said his first name. He never liked his name because people always wanted to tack the title "Lord" in front of it. Sully's mother was a high school English teacher and wanted to name her children after her favorite authors and poets and his father let her providing the names she chose sounded right with their last name. Whenever he complained about his name his father would remind him he could have been saddled with the name George Gordon Noel (Lord Byron's first and middle names.) 

Sully walked closer to the two women said, "I'm happy to meet y'all and please call me Sully."

"Sully, Michaela here would like to ride along the trail and since Jake and Theresa aren't here, could you be her side walker?"

Sully looked at Michaela and then at Snow Bird and answered, "sure."

"Wonderful," his friend exclaimed. "Well, I will walk Flash on the other side and you or Myra can help Michaela up the ramp."

"No," she said a little too firmly. "I mean I can manage myself."

Sully couldn't help but smiled. This Michaela Quinn was independent just like him and Austen. He and Myra let her rolled up the ramp by herself but walked behind her just in case she needed a boost.

When Michaela got on the platform, Snow Bird was waiting with Flash and held her in place.

Before Sully started to help Michaela out of the wheelchair and mount her on the horse he asked, "Can you bear weight with your legs or walk a little?"

"I can do both," she informed him. "I use a walker around my house and when I go places where I know I won't walk a lot. Though I'll need you to hold me at my waist for balance and you'll need to help me on the horse."

"Okay," he replied then help Myra swing the foot rests to the sides. As Michaela started to stand, he stabled her by putting his hands under her arms. That was a mistake. Sully brushed the sides of each of her breasts and he quickly apologized and moved them. Sully put his hands on her small waist and stabled her as she walked few steps closer to the horse. When Michaela was close enough, he lifted her in his arm and put her on Flash.

Sully briefly thought how good she smelled and how good she felt in his arms, but reminded himself nothing could happen between them. "Michaela's off limits. Besides as beautiful she is she probably has a boyfriend."

Michaela got herself settled on Flash, she told Sully she was ready. After Myra took a picture with her camera phone, he started leading Flash while she held on to the horn.

Since the around about trail lasted two miles Sully figured he should start up a conversation with Michaela to make time go by faster, but he really wanted to learn more about her.

"Um, so how did you learn about CD Ranch?"

"My father told me about it yesterday," Michaela replied honestly. "He has been worried about me since I moved from Boston a year ago."

Sully thought he heard a Boston accent when she was talking, but he wasn't sure. He asked, "why did you move?"

His question was predicable and innocent, but Michaela thought about how to answer it without mentioning David and how he dumped her for another women. She just met Sully and talking about her sob story was out of the question. Besides wasn't she supposed to have fun? No talking or thinking about David.

"I needed a change," Michaela finally answered.

Sully knew it was more to it than that, but didn't want to pry. He decided to stick with safe questions. "So what do you do for a livin'?"

"I'm a novelist," she replied simply.

He was impressed. "Is that right? What genre?

"I used to write romance novels, but my next novel will be a mystery," Michaela told him. "I guess you can say I'm broadening my horizons."

"You sure are," Sully said. "Movin' here from Boston and decidin' to write somethin' different. Most people stick with what they know and never venture away from their comfort zone."

"I supposed you're right," She agreed. "I just knew I needed some changes in my life. Besides my best friend, Myra and her husband, Hank lives near by me and they help me out. Hank's the sheriff of Colorado Springs Police department so I feel safe and Myra's a nurse, which is good because she can make my doctor's appointments and help me with my physical therapy."

"It's good to have friends to help you," told her. "So you moved here alone?" Right away he knew he was prying and said, "I'm sorry. It's none of my business."

Michaela said, "It's fine. Yes, I did move here by myself. I, um, I'm single."

That surprised Sully. Michaela was beautiful and a smart woman. He knew there were men who wouldn't want to date a handicapped woman, but he wasn't one of them. Sully wouldn't mind dating her if he wasn't so afraid of being hurt again.

Michaela changed the subject by asking, "What do you do? I presume since CD Ranch was a non-profit you have another job."

He nodded and said, "I'm a marketin' manager at Lodge Construction Company."

"Do you enjoy it?"

"Yeah, it's okay," Sully answered. "I wish more folks around here would want to build again. In this economy people are shrinkin' their businesses and that ain't good for us."

"I'm sorry, " Michaela told him sincerely.

Sully shrugged his shoulders and said, "I just gotta travel out of state or the country more often. At least I got a good paying job and I can help Cloud Dancin' and Snow Bird out here."

"How long have you known them?" she asked.

"All of my life," he informed her. "Cloud Dancin' and Snow Bird are my best friends and are a part of my brother, Austen's and my family. After our parents died in a plane crash almost two years ago, they're the nearest family we have."

Her heart went out to Sully. She couldn't imagine losing her parents. They have always been there for her and just the thought of even one of them dying made her heart ache.

"I'm very sorry about your parents," Michaela said softly.

"Thanks," Sully said with great sadness in his voice.

They were silent for the remainder of her ride. 

***

"Well, I'll say it was worth coming here," Myra said as she was pulling out of the drive. "Just as I suspected.

"I confess it was fun riding a horse again," Michaela told her.

Her friend smiled at her and added, "and meeting Sully wasn't bad either."

"Myra," she said warningly.

"Come on. I saw the intense looks between you two when you met each other," she told her. "Don't dare deny it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," She replied, wanting Myra to drop this subject, but she knew she wouldn't.

Myra said, "I know you and whether or not you to admit it you felt an attraction with Sully."

Michaela knew she was right. She was attracted to Sully from the moment she saw him and when he held her in his arms, she felt a strange sense she was home. Michaela knew it was nonsense and tried to ignore it. Yet hard she might she couldn't forget how great it felt his strong arms and how wonderful he smelled. Sully smelled like cedar, mandarin and amber and Michaela found the scent intoxicating.

She shook her head to clear it and told herself to get a grip.

"Myra, it's too soon."

Her friend rolled her eyes and said, "please. You're not in mourning. Your cheating fiancé, David picked that slut, Miriam over you. I know you're scared to date again, but you need to remember that not all men are like David."

"I know," Michaela said sighing. "I don't want to talk about that anymore today. I want to know what is going on with you. Why didn't you want to ride today?"

"I did want to ride, but I couldn't risk it," Myra explained.

"Risk what?" she asked in puzzlement.

"I was going to tell you later, but I can't wait. I'm pregnant!"

Michaela squealed with delight. "Myra, that's wonderful! I'm so thrilled for you and Hank!"

"Thanks," she said cheerfully. "We just found out yesterday and we are both over the moon. As you know, we have been trying to get me pregnant for over a year now. I'm pleased the hormone shots worked."

"I'm so happy," Michaela told her. "We need to celebrate."

"Hank and I wanted to invite you to go out to eat with us tonight to celebrate."

"I would love to," she said, smiling.

"Great," Michaela exclaimed. "Tonight will be a celebration of a new life."

***

Back at CD Ranch, Sully was unsaddling Flash trying his best to get Michaela Quinn out of his mind. He wasn't doing so hot with that task. Sully could still remember how fantastic she felt in his arms, how she smelled like wild orchids, and the way she talked. He told himself it was crazy to be this hung up with a woman he just met.

"Sully snapped out of it," he thought.

After Sully left the stable, his cell phone rang. He saw it was Austen and he answered.

"Hey, Austen," Sully said. "What's up?"

"Nothin' much," his older brother replied. "Just callin' to see if you wanna go out to eat with Cathy and me tonight."

"Why?"

"Does a brother need a reason to spend time with his younger brother?" he asked.

"Supposed not," Sully answered. "Where do y'all wanna go? "

"Cathy wants to go to Adam's Mountain Café, so I made a reservation for us at seven."

"Alright I'll meet y'all there," he told his brother.

"Fine. See you then," Austen said. "Bye."

"Bye."

After Sully hung up, he put his phone back in his back pocket.

"Well, maybe talking to Austen and Cathy will take my mind off of Michaela for awhile," he thought.


End file.
